12 Must-See Movies That Are Expiring From Netflix in December 2017

It’s the busiest movie season of the year, as multiplexes become overpopulated with awards hopefuls vying for attention from both critics and audiences alike. Nonetheless, cinephiles would be wise to keep one eye on Netflix, which—as usual—will be losing a handful of quality titles this December. They may not all be Oscar-worthy, but whether you’re looking for something to watch with the family after Thanksgiving dinner, or just eager to make the most of your subscription, these soon-to-be-gone films are definitely worth your while.

Black Snake Moan (Dec. 1)

Samuel L. Jackson is a former blues guitarist who decides to cure wild-woman Christina Ricci of her sexual appetites—by chaining her up in his house—in this neo-exploitation film from director Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow), co-starring Justin Timberlake.

Compulsion (Dec. 1)

A fictionalized version of the Leopold and Loeb murder trial, Richard Fleischer’s 1959 drama stars Orson Welles as an attorney tasked with defending two men accused of committing a heinous premeditated murder.

Practical Magic (Dec. 1)

Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman are two witches who must fight a family curse—which says that any man they fall in love with will perish—in order to achieve happiness in this 1998 supernatural rom-com.

Super Size Me (Dec. 1)

Morgan Spurlock proves that fast food is bad for you by eating nothing but McDonalds for thirty straight days in this successful—and influential (for good and bad)—2004 documentary.

The Crucible (Dec. 1)

Arthur Miller adapts his own famous play about the Salem Witch Trials for this superb 1996 film, which is directed by Nicholas Hytner and stars a phenomenal Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder.

Waking Life (Dec. 1)

Richard Linklater uses rotoscopping animation to bring a series of live-action conversations—about life, death, love, and other philosophical topics—to hallucinatory life in this unique 2001 genre hybrid.

Young Frankenstein (Dec. 1)

Mel Brooks sets his silly sights on Mary Shelley’s most famous characters with this classic 1974 parody of Frankenstein (and its various movie adaptations), starring Gene Wilder as the crazed doctor and Peter Boyle as the singing-and-dancing monster.

Holes (Dec. 5)

Shia LaBeouf is one of many kids stuck digging holes—for mysterious reasons—at a detention center run by a nasty warden (Jon Voight) in this popular adaptation of Louis Sachar’s novel.

Nightcrawler (Dec. 10)

Jake Gyllenhaal is intensely unnerving as an L.A. loner who decides to become an amateur crime-scene videographer—selling his gruesome up-close-and-personal verité footage to TV news stations—in this Dan Gilroy-directed thriller.

Che: Parts 1 & 2 (Dec. 20)

Steven Soderbergh spends two films detailing the rise and fall of Che Guevara in this unconventionally plotted epic starring Benicio Del Toro as the iconic revolutionary.

Amores Perros (Dec. 24)

Before he won back-to-back Best Director Oscars for Birdman and The Revenant, Alejandro González Iñárritu wowed international audiences with his 2000 feature debut, which tells three disparate tales all connected by a Mexico City car accident.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (Dec. 25)

Four sequels may have somewhat dulled his charm, but Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow proves a fresh and amusing scoundrel in this first installment in Disney’s theme park attraction-based franchise.

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